


Cold Bite

by toonphile



Series: Stevinel Month [3]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Angst, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-09
Updated: 2020-02-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:40:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22624177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/toonphile/pseuds/toonphile
Summary: Steven tries to carry on in a dead society, alongside an undead Spinel.--For Day Six and Eight of Stevinel Month: Cold and Bite
Relationships: Spinel/Steven Universe
Series: Stevinel Month [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1622800
Comments: 9
Kudos: 40





	Cold Bite

Steven doesn’t know how long they’ve been walking; a couple of hours, if he had to guess though. He stops in his tracks, giving his surroundings a quick once-over before sighing. They’re still in the city unfortunately, nowhere close to the shore. He’d agreed to take Spinel to the beach.

Speaking of Spinel…

“You okay back there?” He asks behind him, even though he knows he won’t get an answer. Spinel is shambing behind him, attached to his backpack by a harness Steven had attached to her, as well as a muzzle Steven had luckily gotten on without getting bitten. Somehow, the pink had stayed in her hair, even after all the grime and other shit that’s gotten into it at this point. She must have used some heavy-duty dye. 

Steven nods at her, before turning his head back and making his way forward again, pulling Spinel along with him. She’s never resistant to the movement, just kinda goes with it. He’s lucky Spinel’s so passive. 

The beach was probably hours away, but Steven had promised. Even if Spinel hadn’t asked in the first place. The beach was a place Spinel used to love when she was alive; they’d go there every other weekend, playing in the sand and the sea. Those were the moments Steven cherished, when things got really dark. When he lost hope. As long as he had Spinel with him, even like this, things were at least a little okay. 

Steven steps out of the shade of a half-fallen building, to step into the sun, Spinel staggering behind him. The local flora and fauna had reclaimed certain parts of the city, so it looked mildly like a jungle here. The trees had mostly taken over this part, with the long grass below Steven’s feet tickling his toes sticking out from his sandals just a bit. Steven takes in a big whiff of air, smelling the smell of forest. No salt or ocean. So not even close.

Steven lets out a big yawn, stretching out his sore limbs. He really doesn’t mind these long walks, they’re just tiring. At least they gave him time to think. That’s always a plus.

Or they give him time to wallow in self-pity. Either or, really.

The thought that always seems to come back to him, though, is how it’s his fault that Spinel was bitten. That he could’ve prevented it. 

_It had been the middle of winter, when this whole thing started. Nobody knew who the first person was to catch the parasite; only that it started in some small town in the Midwest, most likely from eating contaminated deer meat. And then it started to be everywhere. You couldn’t turn on the news without hearing about it; how you should stay indoors until the government said so._

_But that call never came, because everything just….collapsed._

_At first, it was just killing people. That was horrible, sure, but manageable. But then people began to rise from the dead and eat other people, that’s when everyone freaked out. Grocery stores were raided, riots, everything that comes with societal collapse. Steven and Spinel had done what they thought the smart thing was: stay indoors. After all, they weren’t smart enough to get inside, right?_

_Wrong._

_Apparently, when the infected died, they came back with certain senses enhanced; smell, sight, strength. They could easily smell humans for miles. That included people trying to ride out the storm in their homes._

_They had been hiding in the basement, when Steven decided to risk going upstairs to get food. Steven had given Spinel a small peck, before going up the stairs reluctantly. It was the last time he kissed her._

_Upstairs had looked mostly in order, so Steven was a little calmer about being up there. Until he saw the broken window. You see, their basement was pretty much sound-proof, both ways. We couldn’t hear them, they couldn’t hear us. That seemed lucky for the situation we were in, but not being able to hear the dead coming for us? Or intruders? Not good._

_Steven was about to bolt to the kitchen when he heard it: banging on the walls outside. They smelled him. Steven had bit his lip, holding back a scream, before racing back downstairs._

_Then he heard the shattering glass._

_“Spinel,” he yelled-whispered, getting back to her side, grabbing her hand. “They. They’ve gotten in. We gotta go,”_

_“Steven-”_

_“If we stay here were dead, alright? Come on.” He drags her up, just as the basement door slams open. He squeezes her hand before rushing to the basement door that leads outside, the one they had blocked off. “Shit!” Steven pulls on the shelf in front of the door, desperate, but not yet strong enough to pull anything away. He can hear the shambling of the undead coming down the stairs, somehow steady on uncoordinated feet._

_Finally, with the help of adrenaline, Steven moves the shelf out of the way, grabbing Spinel’s hand as hard as he can and just as he’s about to run…_

_...She screams._

_One of the monsters has locked one of his hands around Spinel’s wrist, tight and strong, and Steven panics. He tugs Spinel’s arm towards away from it, but she screams even more, because she’s being pulled in two directions. And then…_

_**Then it bites her.** _

_Spinel’s screams get even louder, and Steven’s finally able to pull away and they’re off, into the world, and Steven stops looking where he’s going, just runs, runs, runs._

_When he realizes he’s in the woods, he stops, catching his breath, and, finally, finally checks on Spinel. And then he remembers. **The bite.**_

_“S-spinel? Can you hear me? Please.” He grabs her shoulders, shakes her gently. “Spinel?” She doesn’t respond, and she slumps down, her feet giving out. “Spinel, hey. Wake up. We’re safe. P-please.” She doesn’t. She never does._

Steven is taken out of his head by the smell of salt and sea. The ocean! 

“Spinel! We’re here!” Excitement runs throughout his body, because it’s been so long since he’s seen it.

It’s empty, thank the Gods, as any undead must have moved out when they realized there was no food in the area. Steven kicks off his sandals, taking in the heat below him. Spinel stumbles behind him, not caring much, but it’s the thought that matters. 

Steven wraps the end of the harness to his hand, and strips off his shirt, poking a toe into the water and letting out a shiver at the chill. It felt nice. 

Well. Now was the best time, if anything. He turns to face Spinel, giving her a small smile. “Spinel. I. I love you, a-and. I’m so sorry for what I’m about to do.” Steven reaches into his bag, and pulls out a gun. He had found it laying on the ground in a gun shop, surprisingly undisturbed. It still had a couple of bullets in it, and when Steven found it, he knew it was a sign. That he knew what he had to do. 

Steven turns Spinel around, before pointing the gun at the back of her head. He wonders, if things had been different, if he had bitten, would Spinel do the same? Keep him around just for her own selfish reasons? He doesn’t know, because he doesn’t like imagining Spinel would drag him around for her own wish fulfillment; but then again, Steven hadn’t imagined himself doing it, but here he was. He knows now that he couldn’t do this forever. That Spinel needed to be set free, free from the burden of being undead. 

“I love you, Spinel,” Steven whispers, and then…

Spinel falls, flat to the ground, small gasps of escaping her mouth, before silence. And then, Steven can feel the tears flooding down his cheeks. He falls to the ground as well, sorrow coursing through his body. He grabs the gun and points it to his forehead, and squeezes his eyes shut, before tossing the gun and collapsing into a ball. 

More than anything, Steven wants to see Spinel. To hold her and keep her close. He wants to join her. But he knows Spinel would resent him for that. For choosing to die over keeping on living. If anything, she would want him to be alive, to survive, for her. And Steven doesn’t want to disappoint her.

Steven rises up and gathers Spinel’s body, giving her one last kiss before walking off towards the woods. 

Spinel would need a proper funeral, after all.

**Author's Note:**

> g-get it? bcuz skin is cold when you die? h-haha...
> 
> anyway!! this is probably the angstiest thing i have ever written. i guess that was just what i was in the mood for yeehaw.
> 
> follow me on twitter @incestmilk!


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